Published May 10, 2026, 12:15 PM EDT I cover Android with a focus on productivity, automation, and Google’s ecosystem, including Gemini and everyday apps. With a background in engineering and software development, I tend to go beyond surface-level tips and focus on how features fit into real workflows. Before joining AP, I wrote for tech publications such as Gizbot  in 2023 and iJunkie (formerly known as iPhoneHacks) from 2021 to 2022. Google Maps became one of those apps I opened automatically, whether it was to check traffic, find a café, navigate somewhere unfamiliar, or see how long a trip would take. I knew the basics so well that I assumed I had already seen everything it could do. However, over the past few months, I stumbled across several features that completely changed how I use Google Maps . A few helped me save time, some reduced small everyday frustrations, and one or two made me wonder how I had missed them for so long.…